Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

While I do not wish to be argumentative, I do not accept that we have not been listening. We have been involved in an all-party initiative on trying to come up with constructive proposals that move us forward while at the same time upholding our national interests. Ultimately, the people will be the arbiter of these decisions. That is part of the democratic life of the country. I do not accept the idea that we must not discuss this matter any further or decide that there are ways forward other than — as Deputy Ó Caoláin would contend — a total rejection of the treaty, seeking to impose a position that the other 26 member states must accept. They want to help us find a solution to this problem other than the one Deputy Ó Caoláin suggests. In my opinion, his suggestion would have very severe consequences for our national interests. That is my strongly held view and the idea that we can come to decisions on various issues while believing there are no political consequences is very naive.

See this speech in context